NORMAN FINKELSTEINAn Issue of Justicevirus333 (2005) CD - $12.00
The facts are not complicated. Finkelstein dispels the ideological fog surrounding this historic conflict. Finkelstein lays out the history of the Israel/Palestine conflict with clarity and passion, arguing that any other similar conflict would be perfectly understood, yet this one exists beneath a blanket of ideological fog. Finkelstein cuts through the fog with indisputable historical facts, optimistic that the struggle is winnable, and that it is simply an issue of justice.

Norman Finkelstein was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1953. He is the son of two holocaust survivors. He received his doctorate from Princeton University, for a thesis on the theory of Zionism. He is the author of four books, including The Holocaust Industry, his writings have also appeared in many prestigious journals. Currently he teaches political science at DePaul University in Chicago.

"Informing Finkelstein's analysis is a universal ethics... He... is following the example set by the great Jewish prophets."- The Nation

"Norman Finkelstein displays what makes him far and away the foremost scholar actually engaging in a critical analysis of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Dr. Finkelstein has meticulously researched the conflict, and it shows in the detail that he goes into during his speech - but "expose" may better describe it: as Dr. Finkelstein himself notes, very simple, self-evident truths are distorted and made nebulous by the thick ideological fog that shrouds the entire conflict (presented, of course, through the filter of the media). Even on Amazon.com, when Jimmy Carter's book came out, it was prominently paraded as being lambasted by critics even though it received many very favorable reviews. Dr. Finkelstein also does something that his detractors (Alan Dershowitz) find extremely irritating - he laboriously backs up every observation or comment with documented facts. But these facts, combined with a razor sharp eye for detail, only provide "what was" and "what it"; it is his moral position (that even allows him to lament the apparent lack of moral consistency in THE leading moral philosopher of the first half of the 20th century - Bertrand Russell) that forces the listener to cast off the excuses and rationalizations that are forced down our throats by the morally-bankrupt apologists and pundits on CNN, Fox News etc. He forces us, by sheer force of argument and morality, to reconsider what we have been told, and to question why, if this information is available, it is NOT in the media, and NOT present to an overwhelming degree in academic circles. An answer to this is postulated near the end of the cd.
The speech itself is very clear, and provides not only a good introduction to the issue, but delves into it sufficiently to explain why things are as they are. What I especially appreciated was the emphasis on cause and effect: Dr. Finkelstein doesn't just state facts, but provides history and context, so as to paint a much clearer picture of why - for instance - Israel was forced to change tactics when confronted with the PLO's "peace offensive". So, if you are reading this, you probably have an interest in the topic, and if so, I urge you to purchase this CD, or at least check out [..] and inform yourself. Please." - B. Kuznetsov

Search:

For:

1.

"The Jewish Question and the Zionist Movement" (7:24)

2.

"Arab Antagonism to Zionism" (3:34)

3.

"Population Expulsion & Western European Elite Opinion" (3:18)

4.

"Zionism, Conquest & Elite Western European Values" (2:46)

5.

"1948 & the Expulsion of the Indigenous Population of Palestine" (2:00)

6.

"The 'Two State' Settlement & International Opinion" (8:19)

7.

"Foiling the PLO's Peace Offensive, the First Intifada, and Oslo" (9:51)

8.

"Arafat the Terrorist, The Saudi Peace Plan & the Second Intifada" (10:18)